Amazon unveils 'Hand of God'

By DERRIK LANGAssociated Press

August 31, 2014 12:01 AM

This image provided by Amazon Studios shows Dana Delany, left, and Ron Perlman in a sceen from "Hand of God." The gutsy drama, which centers on "Sons of Anarchy" and "Hellboy" star Ron Perlman as a judge who believes God is guiding him after his family is attacked, is among the latest batch of potential series that'll be streamed online beginning Aug. 28 by Amazon. (AP Photo/Amazon Studios, Karen Ballard)Amazon Studios

By DERRIK LANGAssociated Press

August 31, 2014 12:01 AM

Dana Delany had an urge. While playing the take-no-prisoners wife of a law-bending judge in the upcoming Amazon pilot "Hand of God," an indecent inclination by the veteran actress conflicted with the instincts she'd developed as a network TV star.

Delany, who's logged countless hours on such series as "China Beach" and "Desperate Housewives," wasn't sure what to do.

"We just shot this scene where I'm intimidating this preacher played by Julian Morris," Delany said.

"At the end of the scene, I said, 'Maybe I should just grab his crotch?' Everyone said welcome to the Internet, Dana. You can't do that on network television.'"

The gutsy drama, about Ron Perlman as a judge who believes God is guiding him after an attack on his family, is among the latest batch of potential series that Amazon began streaming Thursday.

The Internet retail giant took a cue from Netflix and started producing its own shows. Which shows become full series will depend on audience response.

Perlman said he was interested in moving right into another TV project after coming off six seasons as the patriarch of a ruthless biker gang on FX's "Sons of Anarchy."

To him, "Hand of God" was "too good to be true" because it was the first script he read post-"Anarchy," and the character of Judge Harris Pernell was so different from his previous roles.

"I was completely intimidated," Perlman said. "The character is this compendium of bold qualities -- one of which is that he's in the middle of a breakdown when we meet him.

"Whoever he is in life, he's deeply compromised during the pilot and going through self-discovery as God comes into his life."

Despite the show's subject matter and title, a reference to a fringe religious group led by Morris' smarmy soap-star-turned-preacher, the creators of "Hand of God" are quick to note that Amazon isn't moving into faith-based programming.

The show's conceit is more about characters grasping for power in the fictional town of San Vicente than it is about religion.

"The religion in the show is like the science in 'Breaking Bad,'" said writer-producer Ben Watkins, who previously worked on "Burn Notice."

"It's an important part, but it's just a thread -- a great one because there are so many compelling themes to explore. For me, this is more about the contradictions of our lives and our ambivalence toward life in general."

"Hand of God" marks the first foray into TV by "Quantum of Solace" and "World War Z" filmmaker Marc Forster, who directed the pilot and serves as an executive producer.

He created a visual style for the series that he hopes will be emulated by future directors if "Hand of God" is picked up by Amazon, which will take viewer feedback into consideration when making decisions about its shows.